SEPTA approved a $1.28 billion operating budget for the 2014 fiscal year, and did not exercise its "doomsday budget" scenario it had discussed a few months ago. It replaces the six-month budget it passed back in July.

The operating budget was projected to have a $38 million shortfall but SEPTA said it changed that by employing cost-saving tactics like switching to a self-insured health care plan and aggressively fighting fraudulent lawsuits.

The so-called doomsday scenario could have come into place if the state didn't pass the transportation bill, which frees up state money for the public transportation authority. Read more at PBJ.com